I am a veteran of 17 years in the U.S Army. I have PTSD. I have a trained, certified service dog that gives me support each time we go out. When we go out, she always wears a vest with large service dog tags on each side. People need to understand, these real service dogs enable people such as myself to feel more safe — semi-normal and social — not retreating like a hermit. People should always ask the handler before approaching a service dog.

Beyond that, the reason I write is to relate an issue that, several days later, has me still boiling internally with outrage. I was asked to leave a business because it had a “no pets” sign on the door. Service animals are not “pets.”

Now a place where we felt safe, a refuge, here in my hometown, and I no longer feel welcome.

Dan Lothrop, Auburn